Cross country mountain bike racing has become irrelevant to the broad cross section of mountain bike enthusiasts. Cross Country racing, due to its Olympic association, has become little more than road racing in the dirt. Due to Olympic aspirations, even local and regional amateur off-road races have become less and less technical and are often navigable with little or no suspension. Off-road gravity racing (downhill racing—usually point-to-point) is popular with the new and younger mountain bikers entering the sport. However, because specific venues are needed for proper gravity racing such as downhill racing, 4 cross and dual slalom, extensive travel can be required of the would be racer.
A large majority of mountain bike enthusiasts ride full suspension bikes of 4-6″ of travel. They typically enjoy “all mountain” riding for both the climbing and fitness aspects of the sport as well as the descending and adrenaline fed aspects of the sport. Ride types vary by region as terrain varies. In most cases, favorite local rides include terrain that challenges all of a mountain biker's skills.
Because cross country racing formats have diverged from mainstream interests and because sanctioned downhill racing venues are relatively few and far between, many riders prefer riding in their own local areas. Such local rides are usually a close car ride away and in some cases are able to be accessed by the rider with only their mountain bike, thereby requiring no motor vehicle transportation at all. For the younger downhill riders, it has become common place to develop trails with easy motor vehicle access for shuttling back to the top after the decent. Some of these gravity oriented trails are as challenging as the world or regional class courses the riders would otherwise have to travel many hours to compete on (were they to compete in world or regional class events). In all of these local riding scenarios, the competition is typically amongst the locals who create the trails and/or ride them. What is needed is a mountain bike racing format that makes racing relevant again, both locally and to the world, and to engage the enthusiast who currently chooses to stay local and ride local.